Drying apparatus



arch 18, 1930. A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1,750,813

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 10, 1926 9 Sheet-Sheei, 1

Elwomtovy March 1939, A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1,75

DRYING APPARATUS Filed NW. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 /l mun March 18, 1930. A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1, I

DRYING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 v H W Svweutoz March 18,1930.

A. T. OAKLEY ET AL DRYING APPARATUS Filed-Nov. 10, 1926 March 18, 1930. r. 5 L ET AL 1,750,813

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 18, 1930. A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1,7:-u ,s13,

DRYING APPARATUS I Filed Nov. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Vlarch 18, 1930. 'A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1,750,813

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 avwencow A. T. OAKLEY ET AL March 18, 1930.

"' DRYING APPARATUS 9 sheefs- 'gia eet 8 Filed, Nov; 10, 1926 March 18, 1930. A. T. OAKLEY ET AL 1,750,813

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 10, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 mated "1930 LFR D '1'. OAKLELY, orfmnomrsom onm'AN PAUL UPKE, R on cannon, NEW

coM1=A nY, o mnmrom. NEW JERSEY,- A.

JERSEY-,4 ASSIGNOBS "I ESSEX RUBBER conroanmon or-n'nw JERSEY DRYING Arranges I .Appli cation tiled N oveniber 19, 19 26.. Serial No. 14?;414.

' The present invention relates to drying apparatu s of the type 'in which the: material to be dried'is 'subjected'in more or less finely v end plate atthe' charging end of the drum taken on theline 11- 11 ofFigJQ';

- Fig. 12 is an end 'view showing the mecha-- divided' condition tothe drying action of'a gaseous drying medium.

The object ofthe invention is to provide an improved drying apparatus economically operated? i i The invention has been developed inconnection with the construction of apparatus for drying, 'granulated reclaimedj rubber and for eonveniencewillbe described more particularly in connections-with such an appa-- ratus but it will be understood that the par 15ticularudescription is illustrative merely and driving gearing for rotating the drum;

is not intended as definingthe limits of the invention."

I will be. better understood from the following description of a selected embodiment therevof for. the purposes of which description-reference-should behad to -the accompanying Fig.. 1 is a planview of apparatus for use tion}; II I M .FigZB is a diagrammatic View of the ap-;

,paratus showing the arrangement of .the au tomaticdampem controlling, means; I elevatlon Fig. -4.'is'a-v1ew partly 1n rear r and partly in section-showing the drl'ylng mechanism for rot'atingrthe drum;

; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view-taken on.

the line F r- 5 of Fig; 6 on the axis of the drum showing. certain details.. 0f the inlet, end

thereof;

- --Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View of' thecon' trol board showing thearrang'ement of the vs temperature indicators v and the control- 'swi'tch" for the blower motor;

\ F' g. 9 is a view of certain details of the end i plate at the charging end of thedr um that can he" The nature and fob jects .of the-invention drawings forming a. part hereof and in which:""'- 1 (-j indrying granulated reclaimed; rubber;

Fig.2is a iew of thesame in front eleVa-;

is e ,,.in end eler e ion of the. furnac nd of the dr on theline I "6-6 of- Fig. 5 i

Fig; 10=is a detail a... of the same endplate showing the inner face thereof;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional "View of ,the

nisni' for s,upp.orting the drum; I

Fig. 13 is a sectional View taken .on the line 13-13 of F ig. 4 showing the drivingrhech anis n for rotating thedrum;

Fig.f14 is a detailed view of the inte'rior the buckets vi Fig. 15-is a detail plan-view.shoivingthe of" the. drum showing the construction of Fi'g..16' is a det-ail' sectional View showingthe conduits which'conduct' the drying gases same Fig.

position during'therot I1Ofthe drum;-

.Fig. 19 is a detailse ctional view'taken on the line-19-19 of Fig. 9 showing one'of' the jr Fig.- 20 is a detail iew of the conduits 'po sitionedfwithi'n the drum ford-istributing the.

. drying gases throughout the druni and -con-, ducting the same from'the drum;

lower 'guiderollers;

Fig. 2,1 is a plan View of the same; i

18 is a detail sectional View takenon r the line 1818 of 9 showing one of'the PP guide rollers which serve tomaint'ain r the drum headsin a part ofthe structural steel support for" i Fig. 22 is a sectional View taken through .the conduits on the line 22 22 of Fig. 20

Fig.- 23 is a- -view in. end elevation'of the* I drum;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View takenon the l1ne 24.- 24-of Fig. 20 showing adetail of the construction of the conduit V Fig. 25 is a detail view showing one of thex'defletfliors for directing the falling ma.

terial toward the furnace, end of the drum; Fig. 26 isa detail View showing the deflec- -tor s an d.the: operating rod therefor.

In. the apparatus shown for'the purposes 1 of illustrating the .principles off the invenconduits taken at the furnace-end of the tion, a rotatable drying drum 10 is arranged to be charged with a quantity of granulated reclaimed rubber to be dried. As the drum rotates, the material is-tumbled as by means of buckets 11 secured to the inner face of the drum, as best shown in Figs. 13 and 14, in order that all of the material may contact with the drying gases whichare conducted into the drum as from a furnace 13, Figs. 1 and 2, by means of suitable conduits or flues 14 and 15 and the same gases after being charged'with moisture extracted from the material to be dried, are conducted from the drum by means of the conduits or flues 16 and 17. A suitable suction fan 18 maintains the circulation of the drying gases through the drum.

T he drum which is of generallycylindrical shape is rotatably mounted on suitable rollers 20 as best shown in Figs. 2, 4, 12, and 13. The drum is provided with suitable steel bands or tires 21 arranged to engage the rollers 20. In order that the pressure of the drum on the supporting rollers 20 may be evenly distributed, the rollers are mounted in pairs in yokes 22, each yoke being pivoted at an intermediate point, as indicated at 23, in a supporting base 25, as best shown in Fig. 12.

In order to rotate the drum, a suitable an-' nular' gear 26 is secured to the drum midway of its length which annular gear is driven by a pinion 27, Figs. 2, 13 and 15. This pinion is driven from a motor 28, Fig. 1, through a reducing gearing 29 shown in Figs. 1 and 15. The driving shaft 30 of this reducing gearing is provided with a brake drum 31 which is engaged by a brake band 32 arranged to be applied to lock the drum in fixed position when desired as, for example, when discharging the drum or when'it is desirable for an operative to enter the same as for cleaning out the treated material or for inspection or repairs.

The buckets 11 arranged on the interior of the drum to carry the material being dried upwardly and drop it through the hot gases within the drum may be formed in any convenient way. As shown, they are of such shape they may be made of tubular material by simply splittingthe tube .-longitudinally and flattening one side thereof. As shown, in Figs. 13 and 14, one edge of each tube is positioned against and preferably secured to the load carrying part of the next adjacent bucket to brace the same. In order to make provisionfor removing the dried material from the-drum, suitable cover doors 35 and 36 are provided as best shown in Fig. 1. The doors 35 are positioned on one side of the drum and the doors 36 on the diametrically opposite side in order that the weight of one pair of doors may balance the weight of the other pair.

Flues or conduits 37 and 38 extend longitudinally through the drum and are arranged charged with moisture from the drum. These conduits are nonrotatably supported on struc tural steel columns 39, and 40 at opposite ends of the drum. It is convenient to close the ends of the drum by means of end plates which also do not rotate with the drum. The arrangement of the end plates and the associated parts will be best understood by a study of Figs. 5, 6, 16 and 17. a

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the furnace end of the drum 10 is formed with annular plate 42 the central aperture of which is closed by the end plate 43. As shown, an annular flange 44 is secured to the end plate 42 to provide a suitable track which is engaged by rollers 45, 46 and 47 which in part support and maintain the end plate 43 in position in the central opening of the end of the drum. The lower rollers 45 and 46 are preferably mounted upon roller bearings to reduce the friction inasmuch as these carry the weight of the end plate 43. The upper rollers 47 serve as a guide but ordinarily carry no substantial weight and for this reason need not be mounted on roller bearings. The mountings or the rollers 46 and 47 are shown in detail in Figs. 18 and 19 and will be sufiiciently understood without more detailed explanation thereof.

It is impractical to construct the drum with such accuracy that the annular track.44 will run perfectly true and therefore the end plate 43 moves slightly during the rotating of the drum. For this reason the end plate is As shown, the end plate 43 is received at its inner edge between flanges 48 secured to the fiues and associated structure, these flanges being sufliciently spaced to permit the movement of the end plate without excessive friction.

The arrangement at the charging end of the drum is similar to that at the furnace end above described and comprises an end plate 42 forming part of the drum with a movably mounted end plate 43. v

Convenient. access to the interior is provided by a door 50 at the furnace end of the drum. The central opening in the end plate 43 for the flues and the door 50 is outlined by the frame 53, of which the flanges 48 form a part. The frame 53 is rigidly connected to the drum and to permit charging of the drum 7 by material carried thereto by a suitable conveyor.

The construction of the conduits for the dr ng gases-within the drum is best shown igs.20 to 24. The lower flue 38 which conducts the moisture charged gases from the drum secured directly to channel bars 55 and 56 which extend longitudinally through the drum and are supported at their ends on the structural steel columns 39 and 40.

lThisfl'ue 38 is provided with inlet openings 57 distributed along'the length of the flue so as to draw the gases from'all 'parts of the I .drum. The flue is tapered, itslarger end lying at the charging end of the drum where the moisture la en gases leave the drum.

The upper flue 37 rests on the flue 38 and is tapered inthe op osite direction, the larger end being at the urnace-end of thedrum where the hot drying gases enter. This flue" is. provided with outletopenings 58 and 59 on opposite sides respectively and. distributed along the upper edge thereof.

- These flues are positioned toward one side of the drum as indicated in Fig. 6 and the greater proportion of the material to be dried fallsbehind these flues. For this reason the openings-59 on the rear sideof the flue 56 are. made subst'antially larger than 'the openings onthe front side thus admitting the greater proportion of the drying gases to that part of the drum where there is the greater quan- I shown in Fig. 21.

' The temperature of the flue 37 conducting the hot'dryin gases into the drying chamber will be consi erably higher than the temperatu-re of the flue 38 which carries the moisture laden gases and for this reason it will expand to a substantialextent longitudinally. 11 order to make allowance for this'ex'pan sion and to prevent any buckling of the flues the u per flue is so mountedas to permit longitu 1nal movement thereof on its support as expansion and contraction occur. This arrangement is best shown in Fig. 24 wherein the angle bars, 60 are'shownsecured-to the upper flue 37 as by means of rivets 61 and these angle bars rest upon strips of bar-iron 62 secured by rivets, 631:0 the lower'flue 38..

Preferably the angle bars '60 and strips62 are relatively short sections rather than continuous'bars extending the whole length of the flues in order that unequal expansion of the flues and bars may not cause buckling.

The depending flanges of the angle bars 60 may engage strips of bar-iron 64 secured by rivets 65 to the lower flue 38. Preferably suitable insulation 66 such. as asbestos is positioned between the strips 62and 64 and the the control of t e draft damper 80.

flue 38. to prevent the heat the upper flue being transmitted to the lower flue. This insulation may extend over the whole of the top of thelower flue.= The sides of the flues are preferably stiffened by suitable means such 70 a as the angle bars 70 as indicated in Fig.20.

' "-It is desirable to provide longitudinal partitions 72 and 73in the fines in a manner to divide the flues. This expedient improves the distribution of the drying gases in'the different parts of the drum and equalizes the dryingieflect. Inorder 'to'prevent the ma-- terial eing dried from falling on top of ther upper flue and. collecting there a suitable sloping cover 75is supported above the'same in so position to deflect the falling material as best shown in Figs.22 and 23.

In order that the maximum drying effect may be maintained while avoiding burning of the material being dried, it is desirable to 35 provide suitable temperature regulating means. In the apparatus shown, the desired control is obtained by" controlling the flow of gases from the furnace and the proportion of relatively cold air admitted to the conduits 0 with the furnace gases. The amount of 'fur-. nace gases entering the drying apparatus is controlled by controlling the adjustable draft damper of the furnace; Air is admitted to 1 said conduits through adjustabledampers 81' on which dampers ordinarily may be set by hand and need not be subject to the automatic control means, the proportion of air and combustion gases bein sufficiently determined byv In order to make provision for admission of-addition of cold air to the conduits in the event that control of the furnace damper 80 is not suflicient, there areprovided safety dampers'82 which are normally closed but which may be opened automatically if necessary.

The automatic damper controlling mecha-. nism is best shown in Fig. 3. As illustrated,

i a thermostat rod 85 is suitably positioned in 116 the exhaust conduit tolbe controlled by the temperature of the, exhaust. gases. This thermostat rod. is connected to control the floating pilot'valve of the compensator ty e damper regulator 86'. The-regulator may e .115 of any suitable construction-such, for example, as that soldby theHa'gan Corporw tion of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 'The' op-'.

erative. piston of the air cylinder of this damper regulator is connected as by a chain 87 to a lever 88 which in turn is link-connected to a. setting-arm 90 of a second compensator type damper regulator 91.. The lower end of the piston rodof the damper regulator is confiected by means of a chain 86 to adial type field 'rheostatto control the speed of the fan motor'19. Ordinarily as the temperature of the exhaust. gases rises it 1s, desirable to reduce the s eedof the fan,but l the apparatus may be esigned tooperate otherwise if desired. A second thermostat rod 92 is positioned in the inlet flue of the drier to be controlled by the temperature of the entering gases. The bell crank lever 93 is thus controlled differentially.

so that temperature rise of the exhaust gases is prohibited through the reductionof the fan speed by means of the damper regulator acting on the field .rheostat of the fan motor; thus'making suitable allowance ,for the con- .dition of the material and avoiding burning thereof; Simultaneously, the regulator, 86, through the chain 87, and levers, 88 and 90, alters the setting point of the regulator 91 so that the inlet temperature is gradually re duced as an additional precaution against overheating and consequent deterioration of the materialbeing dried.

The furnace is connected to a suitable stack 96 to facilitate starting fires therein, the connection with the stack being controlled by a damper 97 which may be closed when the operation of the drier is begun. The connection between the furnace and the drier conduit; may be closed by a damper 98. if desire A safety device may be provided if desired to stop the fan and close the several inlet dampers in the event of a fire'occurring in the drier. As shown, an automatic device comprising fusible \links 95-positioned in the exhaust conduit together with connections to the several dampers is provided for this purpose.

In Figs. 25 and 26 is shown a series of adjustable deflector blades secured to the 011tside of the flue 37 arranged to direct the fall- 1. In drying apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum, means for circulating gases through said drum comprising an inlet and outlet conduits supported independently of the drum but within the drum and having spaced openings distributed along the length of the drum substantially as and for the purpose described.

2, In drying apparatus ofthe character described in combination, a rotary drum and means for circulating gases through said drum comprising conduits supported independently of the drum within the drum, one of said conduits being free to move relative to its support upon expansion and contraction relative thereto.

3. In drying apparatus of the character described in combination, a rotary drum and means for circulating hot gases through said drum comprising a structural steel supportindependent of the drum and extending longitudinally therethrough, a conduit suptported on said structural steel support and movable longitudinally thereof upon me pansion and contraction, said conduit having openings distributedalong the length of the drum. 4. In apparatus for dpying granulated reclaimed rubber in combination, a rotatable drum and means for circulating gases through said drum comprising a structural steel support extending longitudinally through said drum, conduits carried thereby for introducing dry gases and removing moisture charged gases respectively, one of said conduits being supported to permit longitudinal movement relative tothe other upon relative expansion. 5. In apparatus for drying granulated reclaimed rubber, in combination, a rotatable drum, a furnace, means for conducting the heated gaseous products of combustion from the furnace to the interior of the rotatable drum comprising a conduit supported within said drum but independent thereof, a second conduit for conducting the moisture laden gases from the drum and means controlled by the temperature of the moisture laden gases for regulating the flow of gaseous ing material toward the furnace end of the products of combustion from the furnace to drum. The current of air and furnace gas tends to carry the material toward the charging end. If the deflector blades 58', 59' do not entirely overcome this action the deflectors shown in Figs. 25 and 26 may be used. As shown vertical plates are positioned between successive air ports 59 to the lower edges of which are hinged the adjustable deflector blades 101. A rod 102 engagesthe lower ends of the blades and is movable 'longitudinally of the drum to vary the angle of the blades. a

The foregoing description is illustrative merely and is notintended as defining the 7. Apparatus 'of the character described f:

for drying granulated reclaimed'rubber com-- prising, in combination, a-rotat'abl'e drumg a furnace, a co'nduit for conducting the gaseous products of combustion from said furnace to 'said drum said'conduit havingan air inlet, a structural steel. support extending longitudinally through s'aid d-rum, conduits carriedbysaid support in overlapped relation and'connected to permit relative movement upon unequal expansion, said conduits. being A tapered .with the-larger end of-one conduit at the inlet 'end of the drum and the larger end of thecother conduit at the outlet end of the drum; a fan 7 for 'maintaining circulation through said'conduits and temperature controlled regulating means for controlling the draft of the furnace and the air inlet.

' 8. In drying apparatus of the character described'in' combination, a drum, a conduit receiving hot gases from one source andcoldgases from another sourceand conducting these gases into the drum, a' conduit for conducting used gases from the drum, and means responsive in part to the temperature of the used; gases and in part to the temperature of the incoming gases for controlling the relative quantitiesof hot and cold gases entering said first mentioned conduit:

9. In drying apparatus of the character 6 described in combination, arotatable drum and a fixed conduitdisposed within said I 4 drum, said conduit definin'g'unequal spaces on either side thereof with the sides ofthe drumand said conduit having lateral aper ftureson opposite sides of unequal area.

10.- In drying apparatus of the'character described in'combination, a rotatable drum a fixed conduit for conducting gases into said drum, said conduit being provided with ad-v 6 justable deflectorsonits'interior andmeans 'to move several of said deflectorssimultane- I ousl'yv i 11. In drying apparatus of the character described, in combination; a drum, a conduitfor conducting hot gases into said drum, a

second conduit for conducting used gases from said drum, and means responsive to the temperature of both the used gases and the 4. incoming gases for. regulating the tempera- 1 ture of the incoming gases.

In testimonywhereof, we have signed our i names to this specification the 23d and 16th days of October, respectively. 4

- T ALFRED T. OAKLEY;

4 'PAUL LUPKE,;JR. 

